New Here- Chick with Twisted Leg and Rarely Opens Eyes

[kkimrey]

Hello everyone, I have had chickens for a few years now, but never a crippled chick. I saw her at the feed store where she was being stepped on and thought I could nurse her back to health. Her leg is twisted at the joint, swollen, and never moves. I am unsure if it is broken or if she was born this way. I have to manually feed her because she does not eat or drink on her own. She cannot stand and does not open her eyes for more than a second at a time. She does peep a lot however. She is about 5 days old and has not shown any improvement as far as walking or feeding on her own. Should I continue to try and nurse her back to health or is there no hope for her? I was hoping someone had a similar experience and could tell me. I do not want to have to put her down, but I am worried because she is not improving.



The bad leg is circled. In the last picture this is how she lays if not propped up

 

[QueenMisha]

It looks like a deformity, as far as I can tell from these photos. If that's correct then yes, she'll be like this life long. Some people are willing to deal with the lifelong care a special needs bird requires - others are not. It is likely she will always need to be segregated and offered special care, should she survive chickhood - which, the way you describe it, does not sound very likely. Most often what occurs in cases like this is the sporadic nature of the bird's eating and drinking habits combined with constantly being stepped on serves to weaken and ultimately often kill the chick.

Another possibility besides deformity is splayed leg, but if she is already five days of age and the issue has remained uncorrected since hatch, recovery is a shot in the dark anyhow.

 

[drumstick diva]

I don't think it will be possible for her to have any quality of life. Usually when things are so wrong on the outside, a lot is wrong on the inside as well.

 

[kkimrey]

Yes, I fear that may be true. It's so hard for me to decide to put her down or not because she peeps just like the other chicks and it makes me think she will be ok. I do not think she will be though, when she falls over she makes no effort to get up, she just lays there.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. Sometimes one has to be cruel to be kind I'm afraid and its certainly part of the chicken-keeping game.

all the best
CT